


Romance on the Bus

by redlipstickblackdress



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: BAMF Phil Coulson, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fitz has skills, Rising Tide, Romance, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-08
Updated: 2013-12-08
Packaged: 2018-01-04 00:59:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 13,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1075194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlipstickblackdress/pseuds/redlipstickblackdress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Agent Coulson hires a personal assistant for the team, and she and Fitz have an adorkable crush on each other.  Skye and Simmons try to teach him how to have some game.  Meanwhile, one of Skye's old friends from Rising Tide interferes with Ward's assignment and catches S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention.  When she's hired as an agent and has to work with Ward on an extended mission, the sexual tension is high even if they don't exactly get along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Job Interview

Agent Phil Coulson looked at the small girl sitting across from him in the vibranium-walled room. She didn’t look like much, but he knew from experience that you couldn’t judge people by their appearances. He thought it was unnecessary to hire a personal assistant, but Nick Fury had insisted that he needed someone to do the little things in his division to free up the agents so they could do their jobs more efficiently and thoroughly. 

“How did you hear about this position, miss…” he glanced down at his file, “Carrington?” 

“I was an assistant for a special agent in the FBI. Nick Fury called me because he was impressed by my qualifications.” 

“You do have an impressive resume, Miss Carrington.” 

“Thank you, sir.” 

“If you’re hired, you may hear top secret government information. You’ll be expected to keep it a secret. Sometimes even from my agents.” 

“I understand, sir.” Coulson had already decided to hire her, but he wasn’t about to let her know that. He did enjoy being called ‘sir.’ 

“You’ll also be expected not to ask questions. I’ll tell you anything you need to know and won’t allow you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.” 

“Keep secrets, don’t ask questions. Got it,” she said with a smile. 

“When can you start?”


	2. Meet the Team

Agents May, Ward, Skye, Fitz, and Simmons had been gathered in Fitzsimmons’ lab and were waiting for Coulson. 

“Do you think we’re in trouble?” Skye asked. 

“I’m sure we’re not,” Simmons said in an attempt to be reassuring, although it didn’t come across in her voice. Simmons was a bit of a worrier. “We’re not, right?” she asked, looking to Agent May for guidance. May just responded with her usual expressionless stare. Ward looked impatient, like he had something better to be doing. Fitz had his back turned to the group and was fiddling with some new gadget he was working on. Finally, Coulson entered followed by a small, pretty young woman with shoulder-length curled brown hair. She was wearing a vintage dress and red lipstick – she was clearly the type of person who liked 1950s musicals and swing dancing. 

“Agents, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Coulson began. Fitz turned around to pay attention to Coulson and dropped his screwdriver when he saw Coulson’s companion. Simmons raised her eyebrows as he scrambled to pick it up. Coulson waited for him to get his act together before continuing. “This is Christina Carrington. She’s my assistant, or really, our assistant. If any of you need anything from now on, you can ask her.” 

“Woah, we have an assistant? Sweet! Can you get me a drink?” Skye asked, her face lighting up. 

“Sure, what do you want?” Christina asked politely. 

“No,” Coulson said, and Skye’s face fell. “We don’t have time for drinks. We have an assignment. Ward, you’re going in.” Coulson explained the mission – there was a guy with magnetic abilities who was breaking into bank vaults by controlling the metal in the locks. It was simple and not too dangerous – Ward would go in alone, with Agent May available for backup if it was needed. Fitzsimmons gave him a gun and an earpiece so that he could keep in touch with everyone else on the bus. Ward was to go in, get the guy, and bring him in for questioning. Easy peasy.


	3. Skye?

Ward had him. The magnetic wonder was backed into a corner and Ward had his gun pointed at him. 

“I’m not going to hurt you. We just want to ask you a few questions,” Ward told him. All of a sudden, a woman dropped down from a grappling hook attached somewhere above them – Ward had no idea how she’d gotten in. She turned to glance at him. 

“Skye?” he asked in disbelief. Skye turned back to the magnetic guy. 

“Hold on tight,” she said. He grabbed onto her and she pushed a button on her grappling gun and the two shot up. Ward holstered his gun in frustration and spoke into his earpiece. 

“I lost him. Someone got there first.” 

“Who?” Coulson asked. 

“Skye.” 

*

When Ward was back on the bus, the first thing he did was burst into the lab and turn to Skye. 

“What the hell was that?” he demanded. “You weren’t supposed to go in. What happened to the guy?” 

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Skye said defensively. 

“I saw you! You came down on a grappling hook and helped him escape!” he accused. 

“It wasn’t me! I wish it was, though…a grappling hook? Awesome.” 

“This isn’t a joke. You jeopardized my mission.” 

“Ward, Skye has been right here,” Simmons started.

“The whole time,” Fitz finished. A look of doubt and confusion crossed Ward’s face as he looked at the defensive Skye and at everyone else who was staring at him like he was insane. Still, he wasn’t making this up. 

“I know what I saw,” he said. 

“If you saw Skye,” Simmons said to Ward. 

“That means you’ve got a doppleganger,” Fitz said to Skye. 

“Why does this stuff always happen to me?” Skye asked incredulously. Ward opened his mouth as if to say something snarky, but Skye’s phone made a sound and she pulled it out. 

Coffee, Skye High?

When she read the text, she smiled and shook her head. 

“Oh, shut up, she did not,” she said in disbelief. Everyone looked at her questioningly. She showed everyone the text, and they all continued staring at her without comprehension. “Only one person has ever called me Skye High. I know how to find your guy.”


	4. Coulson Makes a House Call

Veronica Chapel opened her apartment door to find a dark-haired, blue-eyed man in a suit standing there. Coulson took a moment to see who he was dealing with. An attractive young woman with short red hair that flared out around her face in chunky layers. 

“Miss Chapel, my name is Agent Coulson. I believe you have something of mine.” 

“You got here faster than I expected,” she said. “Come on in.” 

“You impersonated one of my agents and undermined another one.” 

“I had to get your attention somehow,” Veronica said. 

“Where’s the magnetic wonder?” 

“Is that what you’re calling him? He’s in my closet,” she replied nonchalantly. Coulson raised his eyebrows slightly. She gestured for him to follow her and she opened a hall closet, in the bottom of which was the magnetic bank robber was tied up and gagged, on the floor. “He’s all yours.” 

“Thank you, Miss Chapel.” 

“On one condition, though. I want to see her.” 

“I can offer you more than that,” Coulson said. That got Veronica’s undivided attention.


	5. The New Girl

Meanwhile, on the bus, everyone but Coulson was finished for the day, so they were all hanging out in the lounge. Christina had made snickerdoodles and was now sitting awkwardly off to the side as Skye, Ward, and Fitzsimmons were drinking beers and exchanging speculations about Coulson’s personal life. 

“Chrissy, grab a beer and join us. You don’t have to sit over there by yourself,” Skye said. 

“Oh…thank you,” Christina said, grabbing a beer and sitting down next to Fitz, who suddenly looked incredibly nervous. 

“These cookies are incredible,” Simmons said. 

“It’s the secret ingredient.” 

“What’s that?” Fitz asked. 

“I replace vanilla extract with the blood of my enemies,” she said with a straight face. Skye started laughing, then stopped when Christina didn’t laugh too. “I’m kidding. It’s just cloves. Jeez, what kind of cookies are you guys used to around here?” Everyone looked relieved. 

“So, did you really work for the FBI?” Skye asked. She was clearly the friendliest of the group. Ward was kind of antisocial and Fitzsimmons seemed a bit shy. 

“Yeah, for two years. It really wasn’t as exciting as it sounds. I mostly just answered phones and made copies.” 

“You must have been more amazing than you think if S.H.I.E.L.D. pulled you out of the woodwork.” 

“Didn’t S.H.I.E.L.D. pull you out of the woodwork?” Ward pointed out. Skye gave him a look that said, ‘duh, because I’m awesome.’ 

At this point, Coulson entered the lounge followed by Veronica. When Skye saw her, she jumped up and ran to her and the two girls hugged, squealing with excitement while Ward and Fitz covered their ears. 

“If you’ll excuse me, there’s a potential superhero in the interrogation room. Our new agent will get you up to speed with Skye’s help, I imagine,” Coulson said, leaving the room. 

“This is Veronica,” Skye explained. “She and I met through Rising Tide. She’s who you saw earlier,” she said mostly to Ward. 

“No. This isn’t the woman I saw. The woman I saw looked like you. Exactly like you.” 

“You’d be amazed what a wig and some makeup can do,” Veronica said with a wink. 

“It can make Ward look like a moron,” Skye said with a smirk. Ward glared at her, and then at Veronica. 

“So, what, she’s an agent now? Outsmart me in the field one time and you’re hired?” 

“That’s about the summation of that, yeah,” Veronica said. Ward clenched his jaw and stood up, leaving the room without another word. “He’s not a people person, is he?” 

“You get used to his particular brand of humor eventually,” Skye said. 

“I’m not sure I understand,” Simmons said. “How did you end up here, exactly?” 

“Oh. Well, I always knew Skye had been trying to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D. to find out more about her past. We kind of fell out of touch, and then she basically disappeared. I knew S.H.I.E.L.D. probably had something to do with it, but I had no idea how, so I wanted to get their attention. I’m pretty skilled with disguises, and I knew that the easiest way to get their attention was to look like Skye, and then I sent her a subtle message telling her how to find me. Coulson came over to pick up his dude, told me where Skye is, and offered me a job.” 

“It’s a pretty elaborate plan,” Fitz said, semi-impressed. 

“Well…it worked. You’re looking at a new agent specializing in espionage. The disguise expertise helps with that.” 

Skye introduced everyone that was still in the room and then went off with Veronica to help get her settled. Simmons was getting sleepy from the beer and the long day and wandered off to bed, leaving a shy Christina and nervous Fitz alone. 

“So…you’re the engineer, then?” 

“Yes. I…um…engineer things.” 

“Yeah. That makes sense. I…assist with things. Speaking of which, I should probably iron Coulson’s suit for tomorrow,” she said awkwardly. 

“Right,” Fitz said, getting up too. “I should probably…” he pointed off toward where his room was. 

“Right, it’s sort of late. I’ll…see you around. Tomorrow,” she added, turning away while Fitz also turned away. “Oh, um…” Christina started again. Fitz turned back. “Did you know Coulson irons his ties? Is that weird? That’s kind of weird.” 

“Definitely weird,” he said, his accent emphasizing the word ‘weird.’ 

“Just making sure I’m not crazy. Anyway, goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.”


	6. The Assignment

Ward entered the command center the next morning to find Veronica there, obviously waiting for Coulson too. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked gruffly. 

“I was invited by Coulson. Obviously so were you, I’m guessing because every party needs a pooper.” 

“We’re not here to party.” 

“You’re apparently not here to have a sense of humor either,” she mumbled under her breath. Ward decided to ignore that remark. Coulson entered with Christina behind him holding a few files, a calendar notebook, and a laptop. She set the laptop up on a table so that she could take notes on it and opened the calendar notebook. 

“Good morning, agents. I have an assignment for the two of you.” 

“Sir, she hasn’t been trained,” Ward protested. 

“Oh, you needed to be trained? That’s cute,” Veronica retorted. 

“Is this going to be a problem, you two working together?” Coulson asked sternly, his face like cold stone. Veronica raised her eyebrows at Ward to see how he would answer.

“No, sir,” he said with resignation. 

“Christina?” Coulson said, gesturing to the two agents. Christina brought the file over to them. Ward opened it up and he and Veronica looked at it together while Coulson explained the circumstances. “Jessica Beauregard is the genius sixteen-year-old daughter of a Texas millionaire. It has come to our attention that she is in danger of being kidnapped to build a weapon of mass destruction that could threaten the planet. I need you two to go undercover and find out who is trying to get to her.” 

“Undercover, sir?” Ward asked for clarification. 

“Your identities are outlined in these files,” Coulson said, gesturing again to Christina who gave them each a file. “Christina will get you set up.” 

Ward was not happy when he read his file.


	7. The Mission Begins

“Are you ready to see your wife?” Skye asked. It amused her to no end that Ward and Veronica had to pose as a Texas oil tycoon and his southern belle pageant queen wife. 

“Let’s just get this over with,” he grumbled. Veronica came out wearing a bright green sleeveless, low-cut dress with a skirt made of fringe that fell to just above her knees. She also had on rhinestoned white cowboy boots. Extensions had been put into her red hair, which had been teased up so that it was a big mass cascading down her back. She also had on fake nails, mascara, and pink lipstick. Ward’s gaze went straight to her prominent cleavage, but he soon caught himself and pretended to have not noticed. “You look ridiculous,” he told her.

“I think you mean hot,” she said. “Go change into your outfit, Nathaniel,” she said, using his alias for the mission. Ward went to change and finally came out in blue jeans with a huge belt buckle that depicted a horse, a black cowboy shirt with white embroidery, and a big black cowboy hat. The outfit was completed with matching black cowboy boots. 

When he came out, looking not exactly thrilled, Skye and Veronica exchanged a glance and then burst into laughter. 

“You look just as ridiculous as I do,” he mumbled. 

“No, I look sexy. You kind of look like Yosemite Sam.” 

“Can we just get on with it, Dixie?" he said mockingly to his fake wife as they prepared to crash Jessica Beauregard’s big sweet sixteen bash. 

*

Ward and Veronica arrived at the plantation mansion where the party was, grabbed some glasses of champagne, and scoped out the place. Finally, they saw Hank Beauregard, Jessica’s father, who they recognized from the files they’d read. They made their way over to him – it would be easier to protect Jessica if they involved themselves into her parents’ life. 

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Mr. Hank Beauregard,” Ward boomed in a convincing Texas accent. Hank and his wife Marilyn turned to see who was addressing them. They looked a bit confused when they saw who it was. 

“I’m sorry…have we met?” Hank asked. 

“Nathaniel Buchanan,” he introduced. “We met at the country club last month. This is my wife Dixie. We were thrilled to receive your invitation. This little lady can’t resist putting on a pretty dress and going to a party,” Ward said, giving her a pat on the backside to make it more convincing. 

“And you can’t resist giving me everything I want,” Veronica said in an authentic-sounding southern accent, getting up on her toes and turning his face toward hers to give him a quick kiss on the lips. He wasn’t expecting it, but he played it off well. 

“How long have you two been married?” Marilyn asked. 

“Seven months,” Veronica answered. It had been in their file. 

“Oh, I knew you had to be newlyweds. You just look so in love. Oh, we’d better go greet some other friends, but please make yourselves at home,” Marilyn invited before dragging her husband away. 

“Was it really necessary to kiss me?” Ward asked, pulling Veronica out of earshot of everyone. 

“Was it really necessary to slap my ass?” 

“Touche. Let’s find Jessica.” They kept a close eye on the teenage girl for the rest of the party while they mingled and made small talk, trying to figure out a potential threat to the young genius.


	8. Fitz's Crush is Obvious

Christina was done with her work for the day and went into the lab where Skye was hanging out with Fitzsimmons while they put together a new gun for Ward to try out. 

“Hey, do any of you need anything?” Christina asked. Fitz started when he saw her and spilled a bag of screws all over the floor. Simmons gave him a look that said ‘what is wrong with you?’ while Skye just looked amused. He knelt down to gather them up and Christina got on her knees to help him. He looked up and realized how close her face was to his, and then looked down at the floor to distract himself from this. When they had gotten the screws together, Fitz looked completely embarrassed, and frankly, Simmons looked a bit embarrassed on his behalf. 

“Thanks,” he said. 

“No problem. I do it all the time. So…does anyone need anything? If you do, you might as well grab me before Coulson makes me iron his ties.” 

“He irons his ties?” Skye asked. “That’s really weird.” Christina nodded understandingly. 

“Do you know how to sew?” Fitz asked. 

“I do,” Christina said. 

“I have a jumper with a hole in it. Perhaps you could mend it up?” 

“I’d be happy to.” 

“I’ll get it. You’re welcome to come with me, if you’d like.” 

“Sure.” Christina followed him toward his quarters, leaving Skye and Simmons in the lab. Skye turned to the other girl conspiratorially. 

“Okay, am I crazy, or does Fitz have a huge crush on her?” 

“Oh, trust me, he has a crush.” Simmons, who knew him better than anyone, confirmed. “The last time he acted like this, he was obsessed with this girl in our Chemistry class.” 

“The guy needs to work on his game,” Skye said, shaking her head. 

Meanwhile, Fitz and Christina had gone to his quarters where he opened his closet to pull out the jumper in question. Christina picked up a book on biochemical engineering and started flipping through it while she waited for him to find his sweater. 

“Wow, this stuff looks intense,” she said. He looked over his shoulder to see what she was talking about. 

“Oh. It’s not really so bad, if you understand it.” 

“Couldn’t that be said for anything?” she pointed out. 

“I suppose so.” 

“I wish I was good at stuff like this. What you do is so important.” 

“I wouldn’t say that. Besides, I can’t mend my own jumpers. You do all the important things the rest of us forget to do. You’re the one who makes everything run smoothly.” 

“I’ve never thought of it that way,” she said. He handed her the jumper. “I’ll go get my sewing kit and get started on this.” 

“You can work on it in the lab, if you’d like. Simmons and I always enjoy company.” 

“Okay,” she smiled. She grabbed the sewing kit and then met Fitz, Simmons, and Skye back in the lab where they all chatted while they worked until it was time for bed.


	9. Spending the Night

The party was just starting to die down when it was brought to the hosts’ attention that there was a tornado warning. The hosts got the remaining guests’ attention and made an announcement. 

“Now, there’s a tornado warning, so for y’all’s safety I’d like to offer y’all to stay here for the night. There are plenty of bedrooms and y’all are welcome to borrow some clothes to sleep in. I just wouldn’t feel right sending y’all out there to drive home in a storm. Y'all just let me know if you need anything, and we’ll get y’all set up with rooms,” Marilyn said. 

“Great,” Ward muttered. However, he and Veronica agreed it was probably best to stay there and call Coulson to fill him in once they had a room. 

Marilyn showed them to a frilly pink bedroom. She brought them some pajamas and showed them the bathroom connected to their room with loads of fluffy pink towels in the closet. When she was gone, they called Coulson and told him what was going on. Coulson decided it was good for them to stay there anyway – that way, they could keep an eye out for any sign of danger to Jessica. When the phone call was complete, they looked at the bed awkwardly. 

“I’ll sleep on the floor, I guess,” Ward muttered. 

“Wow, sound less excited about that.” 

“I don’t like sleeping on the floor.” 

“Then don’t. I’ll sleep on the floor, if you’re going to be a baby about it.” 

“No, you can have the bed. I may not actually be a southern gentleman, but I can still be a gentleman.” 

“Oh, for crying out loud. We’re adults. We can share the bed,” Veronica finally said.

“Fine.” 

“Fine.” 

They turned their backs to each other while they undressed. Ward took off all of his clothes except his gray boxer briefs, and Veronica stripped down to her black bra and knickers, then decided to pull the red silky pajama tank top she was given over her just so that the situation would be maybe a smidgen less awkward. They turned toward each other and both stared uncomfortably, admiring each other’s bodies, but trying to hide it on their faces. 

“What?” Ward asked. “I don’t wear clothes to sleep.” 

“Neither do I.” 

“Fine.” 

“Fine.” 

They got into bed, scooting as far to either side as possible, and Ward turned out the light. 

“Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.” They turned their backs to each other and fell fast asleep. 

*

When Ward woke up, he was spooning Veronica. Hoping she wouldn’t wake up and notice, he slowly and carefully tried to lift his arm off of her and back out of bed. However, Veronica woke up and turned her head to look at him. 

“What are you doing?” she asked. 

“You cuddled with me in the middle of the night,” he said. 

“No I didn’t. You cuddled with me.” 

“We were asleep, who knows who started it?" 

“Do you have a hard on right now?” Veronica asked as he stood up, noticing the blatantly tight front of his boxer briefs. 

“That happens to guys in the morning sometimes. It’s not you.” 

“Right,” she said, clearly not convinced. 

“I’m going to take a shower,” he said grumpily, going into the bathroom and closing the door. She heard the water running and got up and looked into a mirror, wiping away the mascara that had smeared under her eyes overnight, mortified that Ward had seen her looking like a raccoon. A few minutes later, he came out of the bathroom in nothing but a pink towel, a few water droplets still clinging to his muscular chest. Veronica tried not to ogle him. She was annoyed with herself for being so attracted to him. 

“My turn,” she said, heading into the bathroom. She decided to put her hair up in a clip she found in the bathroom while she was showering so that she wouldn’t mess up her extensions. When she was done, she realized she hadn’t brought her clothes into the bathroom, so she just put on her bra and knickers and left the bathroom. Ward had put his clothes back on and now actively tried not to stare at her when he saw her so scantily clad. She slipped back into her dress and boots, then put on another layer of the pink lipstick and was ready to go.


	10. Fitz has No Game

Christina came into the lab in the morning and brought coffee for Skye, Simmons, and Fitz. 

“Yes!” Skye said excitedly, pumping her fist. “Assistant for the win. Wait, how do you know how we all like our coffee?” 

“I’m a good researcher.” 

“Did you ask Coulson?” 

“Yeah,” she said, taking a sip of her own coffee. They all thanked her and started talking while Fitzsimmons worked. Fitz seemed like a complete mess – running into things, getting distracted by staring at Christina, and then realizing he was doing it and stammering. Simmons looked like she wanted to rescue him, while Skye just kept watching this unfold with amusement.   
However, Skye and Simmons both also noticed that despite Fitz’s obvious lack of game, Christina laughed at his cheesy jokes, smiled and blushed when he talked to her, and kept subconsciously primping. 

After a while, Coulson summoned Christina and she left the other three to go deal with his needs. 

“Fitz, if you like her so much you should ask her out,” Simmons said. 

“Oh…no…no, that’s not a good idea. What if she says no?” he said. 

“Trust me, there is no way she would say no,” Skye said. “She is so into you.” 

“She is?” 

“It’s quite obvious,” Simmons agreed. “Trust us. We’re girls. We know these things.” 

“But what do I say?” Fitz asked. 

“You have much to learn, grasshopper,” Skye said, shaking her head at his lack of finesse. For the next several minutes, the two girls coached him on how to ask Christina out the next time he saw her.


	11. Ward Receives Surprising News

When they were ready for the day, Ward and Veronica called Coulson to check in with him. He told them to become buddies with the Beauregard family – he highly suspected whoever was trying to use Jessica as a global threat was inside of their social circle. 

“Join the country club, attend their parties, invite them to dinner – do what you need to in order to become close to them. The more involved you are with their group of friends, the easier it will be to see who is behind all of this,” Coulson said. 

“So, we have to keep pretending to be Nathaniel and Dixie Buchanan?” Ward asked as if incredibly annoyed. 

“Live it. Embrace it,” Coulson confirmed. “We have more clothes for you on the bus. If you come back, Christina will get you set up.” 

“Great. We’ll be there in a couple hours.” 

The ‘couple’ went downstairs to find that the Beauregards’ maid had cooked a big southern breakfast for everyone including bacon, eggs, and biscuits with sausage gravy. Ward and Veronica tried to politely thank their hosts and leave, but Hank and Marilyn insisted that they stay for breakfast. They sure were friendly. Pushing themselves into the family’s lives would be easy. The Beauregards began boasting about Jessica – she was an honor student, a pageant winner, cheerleading captain, and head of the homecoming committee. It seemed like the girl did it all. 

“How old are your kids?” Marilyn asked. Ward and Veronica exchanged a glance. They hadn’t thought about the fact that this is the south, where people got married young and had children right away. 

“We don’t have any,” Ward said hastily. Marilyn and a couple other women exchanged a look. 

“Yet,” Veronica added. “We’ve got one on the way,” she said proudly in her fake accent, flashing a huge smile and putting a hand on her stomach. Ward choked on his eggs and took a big gulp of coffee, kicking Veronica hard under the table. 

“Ooh! How wonderful!” Marilyn gushed. “How far along are you?” 

“Just a month. We only found out recently, but we’re so happy!” Veronica said while Ward tried to grin like he was thrilled. To cover for his obvious surprise at Veronica’s announcement, he put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a good kiss on the lips so he wouldn’t blow their cover. 

“Now, you just let us know when you want to have the baby shower, we’ll arrange the whole thing,” Marilyn insisted. 

“Thank you. As for now, we need to get home,” Veronica said. 

“Thank you so much for your hospitality last night,” Ward added. “Perhaps we can thank you over dinner tonight.” 

“That would be lovely!” Marilyn said. “How about 7:00 at Bijoux?” 

“Perfect. Thanks again. We’ll see you tonight!” Veronica said. Once they were out of sight of the house, they got in the car and drove to where the bus was parked. 

“What the hell was that?” Ward demanded. “Why did you tell them that you’re pregnant?” 

“Did you see the way they were looking at us? They thought we were insane. I had to do something. I couldn’t have them thinking we’re weirdos.” 

“No, it’s much better for them to think you’re carrying my child,” Ward shouted sarcastically. “Don’t ever pull something like that again. If you’re going to say something that’s not in the file, you talk to me first.” 

“You’re not my boss,” Veronica snapped. “It’s not like we’re going to be in their lives for five months. It was just a way to avoid suspicion. We’ll be done with the assignment by the time a pregnant woman would start to show. I don’t know what the big deal is.” 

“The big deal is that we have to be on the same page for this to work.” 

“Okay, I’ll talk to you next time. Jeez.” 

The rest of the car ride was made in cold silence until they returned to the bus. They had several hours to update Coulson and then relax before they had to get dressed up again and meet the Beauregards for dinner. These several hours were spent avoiding each other as much as possible.


	12. Fitz Makes a Date

After her morning’s work was done, Christina went to the lab to find that Skye was on a laptop, Fitz was fiddling with his gadgets and his screwdriver, and Simmons was examining a hologram of an engine of some kind. 

“Hi,” Christina said. “Anyone need anything?” 

“I think we’re all good here,” Skye said, glancing at Fitzsimmons to double-check. “Actually, come to think of it, I have to go…fix…something. Simmons, would you mind helping me?” 

“Oh, she doesn’t have to stop working, I can help if you want,” Christina offered. 

“No!” Skye said urgently. “No…Simmons and I have to do it together, because…” 

“Because I’m the only one who understands the way this…thing…works,” Simmons clarified. “You should just stay right here, with Fitz. I’m sure he…has something to ask you.” Fitz gave Simmons a pleading look, and she just gave him a ‘go on, then’ expression in exchange. Soon, the two girls had left and Fitz was left with no backup. 

“Is it me, or were they acting a little weird?” Christina asked. 

“I didn’t notice anything,” Fitz said unconvincingly. 

“Huh. Maybe I’m just crazy. Did she say you have something to ask me?” 

“Oh…right…I was actually wondering…” he started, clamming up. Christina stared at him patiently. “…if you might…want to go out with me. For dinner. Tonight,” he finally spat out, trying to remember what Skye and Simmons had told him. He waited nervously as Christina smiled. 

“I’d love to,” she said. 

“Really? That’s great!” They made the arrangements and then Christina left the lab. Skye and Simmons didn’t return for quite a while – they expected Fitz to take longer to actually get it done. However, on their return they discovered that they had trained him well.


	13. Veronica Messes with Ward

Veronica adjusted her tight red halter dress. The extensions in her hair were annoying her, so she just took them out. She figured she’d just tell everyone she ‘got a haircut.’ Ward had on a blue cowboy shirt with his jeans and hat. 

“What happened to your hair extensions?” Ward demanded. 

“I don’t like them,” she shrugged. “What? People get haircuts.” Ward couldn’t argue with that so they just went on their way. When they arrived at Bijou they were seated with the Beauregards at a nice table. 

“Oh my god, your hair! It’s so stylish!” Marilyn said. Veronica couldn’t help but give Ward a smug glance. The waiter came up to take their drink orders and the two men ordered beers while Marilyn ordered white wine. 

“Whiskey, neat,” Veronica said without thinking. Marilyn stared at her. Ward raised his eyebrows in surprise. Suddenly, he remembered something. 

“Sweetheart, do you think you should be drinking that? What with the baby and all?” he pointed out. 

“Oh, right. It’s all so new, I forgot. I’ll just have water,” Veronica said, giving Ward a grateful look. They all ordered their food and the two couples chatted about this and that. The women talked about their exciting lives in the world of beauty pageants and the guys discussed investments. Eventually the girls’ chat moved to babies and pregnancy, a subject the guys really did not want to talk about. When the guys finally started listening to their conversation, Ward was horrified when he heard Veronica say, 

“Well, Nathaniel just wants to do it all the time. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great, but some nights I’m just too tired. He usually talks me into it, though. He’s incredible.” There was no mistaking that they were talking about bedroom activities. 

“Honey, I’m sure she doesn’t want to hear about that,” Ward said, kicking her under the table. 

“He’s always so bashful. In front of other people, that is.” 

“Sweetheart,” he said pointedly. “Don’t we need to get going?” 

“No, I don’t think so,” Veronica said with a smile. “We have all night. Unless you’re anxious to get back and get me out of this dress,” she winked. The two women laughed as the guys exchanged an awkward look. The rest of the evening went off without event as they finished dinner, said goodbye to the couple, and headed back to the bus.


	14. First Date

Christina walked into the lounge where Fitz was waiting in black pants, a black shirt, and a white tie. When he saw her in her black velvet Asian-style dress, his mouth hung open at the way it was hugging her curves. 

“You look…lovely,” he finally managed to say as he stood up after he’d collected himself. He picked up a pink rose that was sitting on the couch next to him and held it out to her. She smiled and thanked him, smelled the flower, and took his arm as he led them out to a car that took them to a small, comfortable Italian restaurant called Amore. 

Fitz opened the door for her, pulled out her chair and helped her scoot it in, and then went around to his side of the table and sat down. They ordered wine, looked over the menus, and ordered, and then they were on their own. There was silence while they glanced at each other nervously. 

“So, how did you start working at S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Christina asked, breaking the silence. Fitz felt comfortable enough with this topic to tell her all about it. After this had broken the ice, the conversation flowed a bit more freely until they had gotten their food. They ate and then returned to the bus, where he poured them some more wine as they sat chatting in the lounge. There were periods of awkward silence, but they always managed to get it back on track. 

The entire night, they exchanged shy glances and smiles – although they were able to keep a somewhat steady conversation going, they were still quite nervous around each other.   
Eventually, it got late, and Fitz walked her to her quarters. When they got to the door, they looked at each other awkwardly. Fitz had been dreading this moment the whole evening. What was he supposed to do? Should he kiss her? Did she want him to? He started to lean in, and she didn’t move away, but he chickened out and backed up. 

“Well, I had a great time,” Christina finally prompted. “Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight,” Fitz responded. Not wanting to leave things so uncomfortable, Christina leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. A huge grin spread over his face as she smiled over her shoulder at him as she entered her room.


	15. Just a Kiss?

“I asked you to talk to me before you start shooting off your mouth with the Beauregards!” Ward shouted as he followed Veronica to her quarters. “Why can’t you do that one thing? How am I supposed to work with you if you keep throwing curveballs at me?” 

“I don’t see what the big deal is! I’m the only one who’s made our cover even remotely convincing! You always just sit there all awkwardly, so it’s up to me to actually act like we’re a married couple. Maybe if you didn’t suck at acting so much, I wouldn’t have to improvise all the time,” she retorted as he followed her into her quarters. “Why are you in my room?” He ignored this question and continued. 

“Well, maybe it would be easier to imagine you’re my wife if you weren’t such a pain in the ass.” 

“I’m a pain in the ass? I’m the one who has to work with Broody McCrankypants.” 

“Broody McCrankypants? Really?” 

“Just shut up,” Veronica said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. They both had their jaws clenched and were staring at each other, breathing heavily after all the shouting, and then all of a sudden they were kissing quite vigorously and neither of them knew which one of them had started it. 

Ward wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and backed her into the wall, pressing her into it as he kissed her hungrily, his hands running up and down her sides and grazing her chest. She was kissing him back with equal eagerness, her hands running up and down his chest, until she’d had enough of this and ripped his shirt open, buttons flying aside as she slipped it off his shoulders. He slid his tongue into her mouth briefly, then started kissing down her neck as his hands stroked her chest through her dress. 

“Your mouth is kind of hot when it’s not talking,” he mumbled against her skin. 

“What?” she said, pushing him away. 

“What?” he asked, confused. “You’re a good kisser.” 

“Get out!” she shouted, shoving him toward the door. “I am not having sex with you.” 

“Who said anything about sex?” he asked, although his voice gave away his thoughts, which were definitely heading in a sex direction. 

“You didn’t have to say it, it's obvious. But it’s not happening, jackass,” she finished, shoving him out of her quarters. Standing outside was Coulson, who looked surprised and amused to see Ward in nothing but jeans and a cowboy hat being shoved out of Veronica’s room. 

“Sir,” he nodded awkwardly. A moment later, Ward’s cowboy shirt came flying out of the room after him, landing on his shoulder. 

“I suggest you get some sleep, Agent Ward,” Coulson said knowingly. “It appears that you had a rough day.” 

“You have no idea,” Ward sighed. 

“I think I have an idea,” Coulson said with a smirk, leaving Ward half-naked and confused.


	16. Fitz Fails to Make a Move

The next couple days were rather awkward on the bus, at least between Ward and Veronica, although the tension was evident to everyone else. On their part, Ward and Veronica seemed to have silently agreed to pretend the making out didn’t happen. Other than that, it was fairly uneventful. Coulson had decided to give Ward and Veronica a couple days off to regroup, although he was keeping a close eye on the Jessica Beauregard situation. 

One night, Christina was working fairly late in the command center with him, although he kept noticing her looking at the clock. 

“You can finish this tomorrow,” Coulson said. 

“Oh…no…no. I can finish it now. It won’t take long…” she said, glancing at the clock again. 

“I know you have a date with Fitz,” he said. She looked surprised. “I hear things.” 

“I can just finish this really quick and then—”

“It can wait. Go get ready.” 

“Thank you, sir,” she said with a smile. He nodded and she scampered off to put on a pink top, blue pencil skirt, and wine-colored cardigan. It wasn’t that different than what she’d worn for work, but she wanted to feel like the date was separate from her work day. After touching up her makeup and spritzing on a bit of perfume, she was ready to meet Fitz. He had on a white shirt, gray jeans, and a purple sweater. 

He took her to see a quirky romantic comedy. During the whole movie, there was a rather nervous atmosphere between them. Fitz had no idea what he should do during a movie date. Should he kiss her? Did she want to pay attention to the movie? Would it be weird with popcorn breath? Should he put his arm around her? Hold her hand? 

He awkwardly lifted his arm a couple times, trying to decide if he should touch her, but then changed his mind and just pretended he was stretching and put his hand back on his leg. This did not go unnoticed by Christina, but she pretended not to have noticed. Finally, after Christina intentionally moved her hand in plain sight on her knee where it was available for grabbing, Fitz got up the courage to take it, lacing his fingers through hers. He decided it would be better to go for it than for her to think he didn’t like her. To assure him that he’d made a good decision, she rested her head on his shoulder. 

After the movie they went back to the bus and like before, he walked her to her quarters. 

“Thank you for the movie. It was great. I like spending time with you,” she said shyly. He smiled. 

“I like spending time with you too.” 

“I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight,” she prompted. Surely this time he would kiss her. She leaned in a bit, and he looked nervous before kissing her on the cheek. 

“Goodnight,” he replied, then disappeared. Christina sighed. Did she have to wave a neon sign that said ‘kiss me’ at this guy?


	17. Max

The next day, Ward and Veronica were back on the case. While they were driving to the country club, costumed out, Veronica finally broke the uncomfortable silence. 

“So, I was thinking, it might be easier to keep up the ruse of being married if we come up with some everyday aspects of our life that we can casually mention if our cover starts to seem a little questionable. For example, I think we should have a dog.” 

“You’re asking me about this?” 

“You wanted me to talk to you before telling them stuff.” 

“Yeah, but I asked you to do that before, and then you didn’t.” 

“Well, I am now,” she shrugged. Ward paused for a moment, processing this, and then continued. 

“I like the dog idea. I’ve always wanted to have a dog. I think his name should be Max.” 

“Why Max?” 

“You don’t like Max?” 

“Max is fine, I was just wondering if there was a reason.” 

They came up with a couple other details to make their story seem more realistic, but the conversation was too civil. Ward definitely felt like Veronica was acting differently than she did before they’d kissed. He hoped he hadn’t offended her or something, although she certainly had been kissing him back at the time. Maybe things would get less awkward soon.


	18. Skye is Disappointed

Skye found Christina managing Coulson’s calendar in the lounge. She grabbed a couple glasses of wine and offered one to the assistant before joining her on the couch. 

“So…” Skye started. 

“So?” 

“Come on! You and Fitz went on a second date. How did it go?” 

“Oh…it was good…I’m not really sure he likes me that much, though,” Christina said. 

“Um, what are you talking about? He trips all over himself every time he sees you.” 

“I mean…we saw a movie and he only barely held my hand toward the end.” 

“You were in a movie theater and he didn’t make a move? What an amateur,” Skye said, shaking her head with shame. “Well, he kissed you goodnight, right?” 

“On the cheek,” Christina shrugged. “I tried to lean forward to, you know, encourage him, but that was all I got.” 

“Oh my god. He’s hopeless,” Skye said dramatically. “This is not acceptable.” 

“I mean, it was kind of sweet. I just…maybe he likes spending time with me but doesn’t find me attractive.” 

“Yeah, I’m going to go with no. You two are way too cute for him to screw this up.” Before Christina could say another word, Skye had stormed off into the lab. “What is wrong with you?” she demanded to Fitz. He and Simmons both looked incredibly confused. 

“What did I do now?” he asked. 

“It’s what you didn’t do!” Skye informed him. 

“Oh, Fitz…did you forget to turn off the holocam again?” Simmons asked. 

“What does that even mean?” Skye asked. “No. What he didn’t do was kiss Christina on their date last night.” 

“Yes..I did...” 

“On the cheek does not count.” 

“I was waiting for the right time?” he tried. 

“Well, if you wait any longer, you’re going to miss your chance, dude. Do you know what she just said to me? She thinks you don’t like her.” 

“Why would she think that?”

“Fitz,” Simmons said with a combination of love and pity, “you sat through an entire film and barely touched her. What else would she think?” 

“We’re going out again tomorrow night,” he said, hoping this would assuage the incredulous girl brigade. 

“Well, you are kissing her on that date tomorrow night before you’re allowed to sleep. I will personally stand in your quarters with a tambourine all night if you have not kissed the poor girl by the time you go to bed.” 

With this threat in place, Skye turned and walked out of the lab, leaving Fitz to swallow nervously while Simmons just shook her head at him.


	19. Just a Kiss???

Ward and Veronica returned to the bus and reported back to Coulson. They had a suspect: a man who Hank Beauregard golfed with a lot, Darren Hamilton, who seemed especially interested in Jessica’s academic achievements and abilities. Coulson told them to keep an eye on Hamilton, and they left the command center. 

“Veronica, are you okay?” Ward finally asked. 

“Yeah, why?” 

“You were just acting strange today.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean ever since we kissed, your attitude toward me has changed. Are you angry with me?” 

“No, I’m not mad at you,” she sighed. “It was just an uncomfortable reminder that men will only ever see me as a sex object.” 

“Veronica, that’s not what I…the thought crossed my mind, but that’s not why I…you’re not actually talking about me, are you?” 

“Not really.” 

“Want a drink?” he asked. They had moved to the lounge for this conversation. 

“Whiskey, neat,” she said. He poured two and then they sat on the comfy chairs and couches. 

“Who was he?” 

“My ex. Once he finally got me to sleep with him, he left me for some little seventeen-year-old blonde he’d been cheating on me with. He told me she was ‘new and shiny.’” 

“Sounds like he wasn’t man enough to handle a real woman,” Ward said. Veronica thought about this for a minute, then nodded. Ward continued, “I know what that feels like. I walked in on my ex in bed with my best friend the day I was planning to propose.” 

“I’m sorry,” Veronica said sincerely. She had no idea he’d gotten his heart broken so badly. 

“Now look at us,” he said sardonically. 

“The reason I was distant with you was because you have never respected me as an agent. Then when we kissed…it just reminded me that all I’ll ever be is a piece of cheap ass.” 

“That’s not true. You may not do things my way, but you’re a good agent. You’re the one who’s kept me on track during this mission. You have social skills I don’t have.” 

“Well, that’s saying something,” she laughed. 

“I’m serious. You’re a good agent. And I promise I’m not saying this to get into your pants…but you’re a beautiful woman who kicks ass. Don’t let him get into your head and make you think no one will ever see that.” 

“Is it bad if I want to kiss you again?” 

“Just a kiss?” 

“Just a kiss,” she said. He leaned forward and kissed her much more gently than last time, a hand wrapping around her neck. When it was over, it took her a moment to open her eyes again. “This is bad,” she said. 

“What?” 

“I felt something.” 

“I felt it too.” 

She captured his lips again and they kissed for a long time before finally going off to bed with smiles.


	20. Fitz Gets His Shit Together

The next afternoon, Fitz and Christina went to White Rock Lake with a picnic packed. They took a stroll around the lake, taking in the beautiful scenery and sunshine. He even took her hand and held it as they walked, occasionally breaking the comfortable silence to comment on a gorgeous view or an old lady who looked just like her dog. After a while, Fitz began telling her Scottish jokes, all of which she found funny. Fitz was glad he could make her laugh. 

Eventually they got hungry so they set up their picnic in a pretty spot of grass and ate sandwiches – Simmons had made them Fitz’s favorite: prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, and pesto aioli.   
After they had eaten, they relaxed on the blanket and talked about their childhoods and growing up before storing their picnic stuff in the car and then taking a drive through the beautiful nearby neighborhoods.

When it had gotten dark, they went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant before heading back to the bus. This was when Fitz started to get nervous. He still hadn’t kissed Christina yet, and he was determined to do it – not because Skye would end him if he didn’t, but because he wanted to. There were moments when he almost did during the date, but each time he had chickened out.   
When they reached the door to Christina’s quarters, he had made up his mind to go for it. However, once he was there, she looked so pretty that he clammed up. Why was this so difficult? He knew she wanted him to, and he wanted to, but he was nervous. What if he ended up being bad at it or messing it up? So he said goodnight and she said it back, and looked a combination of expectant and disappointed. He turned, took a couple steps away, stopped. 

“Wait,” he said. He knew he’d never forgive himself if he didn’t kiss her right then, not to mention that Skye and Simmons would yell at him and he’d blow it with a girl he really liked. Christina turned, looking hopeful, as he walked back over to her. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he put a hand on the side of her face and hesitantly pressed his lips to hers before he could chicken out again. 

She couldn’t help but smile against his lips before kissing him back, her hands pulling him closer by his shirt as his tangled in her hair. When he stopped and backed away, she was smiling, which assured him that he’d made the right choice. 

“I like you…quite a lot,” he said. 

“I like you a lot too.” 

“I was sort of hoping maybe you’d be my girlfriend. If you want to, that is.” 

“I’d love to,” she said with a smile, kissing him again. “Goodnight, Leo.” 

“Goodnight, Christina.”


	21. Not Just a Kiss

For the next couple days, Ward and Veronica had become a lot more comfortable with each other after the night when they talked about their exes and had kissed. Even the Beauregards seemed to notice, saying they were positively glowing, and assumed it was because of the alleged baby on the way. 

“You like him,” Skye noticed. 

“What? No, we just called a truce.” 

“Whatever, liar. Oh my god, did you two hook up?” 

“No.” 

“Make out?” 

“Maybe…twice.” 

“No way! Is he a good kisser?” Skye had to ask. 

“Incredible,” Veronica admitted. 

“He likes you too, by the way,” Skye assured her. “It’s super obvious.” 

“No, he doesn’t.” 

“Why don’t you ask him? Because here he comes,” Skye prodded, nudging her by the elbow before disappearing right as Ward appeared in the lounge. 

“Hey,” he said, sitting down next to her. 

“Hey.” 

“Do you have a few minutes?” he asked.

“Um…yeah, I guess so.” 

“I wanted to say something. I don’t really know how to say this.” He took a moment to collect his thoughts, then continued. “I know things started out rocky between us, and I know we’ve both been hurt…I understand that you’re cautious, I am too…” Veronica was just looking at him with slight confusion. “I guess what I’m saying is that I like you, and I was wondering if you might want to take a chance with me.” 

“I…I don’t know…” she said, rather surprised. 

“We can take it slow. I don’t want to rush you or pressure you. I just want to be with you.” 

At this point, Veronica was tearing up. She’d never really had a guy just open up to her like that, and she knew it wasn’t easy for someone like Ward to just put himself out there in that way. Possibly against her better judgment, at least in her mind, she responded first by kissing him soundly. 

“Thank you for giving me a chance,” he said, putting his arm around her and kissing her on the forehead. They went to bed soon after that, sharing her bed, cuddling all night and nothing more.


	22. Skye is Proud

Fitz was working hard in the lab with Simmons and Skye when Christina came in. He gave her a smile. 

“Fitz, Coulson wants to see you right now,” she told him. He looked nervous and followed Christina out as Simmons and Skye looked at him sympathetically. When they were out of sight of the lab, Christina stopped. 

“Where’s Coulson?” Fitz asked, confused. 

“He didn’t want to see you, I just wanted to get you alone so I can do this,” she said, then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him sweetly. 

“That’s sneaky of you,” he teased, kissing her back. This continued for several minutes, then they both went back to work. When Fitz returned to the lab, he had a huge smile on his face. 

“You were just making out,” Skye said knowingly. 

“With Coulson?” Simmons asked, turning around and looking horrified. 

“No,” Skye said, rolling her eyes. “Coulson didn’t really ask for him. Christina just said that so that she could suck face with him.” 

“How do you know?” Fitz asked. 

“You don’t normally wear red lipstick,” Skye pointed out. Fitz looked embarrassed and wiped at his lips. 

“At least now we know he’s kissed her,” Simmons pointed out. 

“I’m proud of you, grasshopper,” Skye said, patting him on the shoulder.


	23. Ward Makes a Date

The mission ended up being surprisingly easy to finish up once it was all said and done. It ended up being not someone within Hank and Marilyn’s social circle, but rather someone within Jessica’s. It turns out that one of her classmates had tried to con her into building a bomb for the science fair and blowing up the classroom of the teacher he hated. 

Once this was wrapped up, they revealed to the Beauregards who they were and what they were doing, with Coulson’s help of course. They were surprisingly understanding about being lied to, just happy that their daughter was safe. They actually did enjoy hanging out with Ward and Veronica and said they’d be happy to offer them a place to stay or dinner when they were in the Dallas area. 

They all loaded back onto the bus and were back in the sky soon enough. 

Ward hopped into bed with Veronica that night in nothing but his boxer briefs and propped himself up on his elbow to look at her. 

“We made a great team out there,” he said, his free hand playing with her hair. 

“We did,” she smiled, leaning up to kiss him. “Do you think we should go on a date?” she asked. 

“What did you have in mind?” 

“I don’t know. What would you like to do?” 

“I don’t suppose you’d want to check out a shooting range.” 

“Only if you’re interested in me making you look like a bad shot.” 

“It’s a date,” he said, kissing her soundly one more time before turning off the light, spooning her, and falling asleep.


	24. Heating Up and Cooling Down

Skye, May, Simmons, Fitz, and Christina were all in the lounge drinking beers and telling stories…or rather, everyone was telling stories and May was listening expressionlessly.   
Fitz and Christina were on the couch with her across his lap, occasionally stealing kisses when they thought no one was paying attention. 

Eventually, people started to drift off to their quarters. Fitz walked Christina to her quarters as usual, kissed her goodnight, and was about to walk away, when she stopped him. 

“You can sleep in here tonight if you want,” she said shyly. “I mean, it would be nice to not have to stop cuddling.” 

“I would like that. Let me just go change,” he said. When he returned in blue plaid pajama pants and a gray t-shirt, Christina had changed into pink pajama shorts and a white tank top already. They climbed into the bed and Christina scooted over to him and began kissing him. This started out languidly, but then grew more frantic as it continued. His hands discovered a spot on her lower back that produced a rather interesting reaction, which caused him to pause and look at her with concern. 

“Did you…like that? Or was it bad?” he asked. 

“I like it. Really like it,” she said in a rather high-pitched voice. 

“Oh. Right,” he nodded. She captured his lips again and it continued as her tongue slid past his lips, her hands finding their way under his t-shirt. The sudden contact with his skin made him stop kissing her again. 

“Sorry…maybe we should calm down.” 

“Maybe…yeah…” he agreed, his cheeks turning a bit pink. It was not the right time to let things go any farther. She just snuggled into his arms and gave him one last kiss on the jaw before turning off the light, and they both fell asleep soon after that.


	25. Sexy Times

After a quick conversation with Coulson and May, Ward finally talked May into flying them to the S.H.I.E.L.D. gun range where he and Veronica could practice their shooting together, which for them was quite a fun and romantic date. 

They practiced with a few different types of guns. It became clear that Ward was a precise shooter – his shots were close together, but not in the bull’s eye – while Veronica was a more accurate shooter – she could always hit exactly where she was aiming. 

After they had exhausted this activity, they had dinner at a nearby diner and argued about which of them was a better shot. It was finally agreed that Veronica was – her accuracy was more helpful in the field. 

Finally, they hopped back on the bus and went to Ward’s quarters, blissfully tired from the long day at the shooting range, and quite relaxed, since shooting was a great way to relieve stress. Ward rolled over to Veronica and kissed her soundly, before just propping himself up on an elbow and staring at her. 

“What?” she asked, suddenly self-conscious from the way he was looking at her. 

“It’s just…I never thought I’d let myself feel this way again.” 

“Feel what way?” 

“Happy with someone. When I found out what my ex and best friend did to me, I thought it would just be better never to let anyone in, to just be alone. I know I act like this big tough guy, but I never stopped hurting because of Courtney. The thing is, I didn’t know women like you existed – you accept my baggage, give me shit, call me out, and can shoot circles around me. You’re smart and strong and beautiful and sexy. For the first time since Courtney, I’m not afraid of getting hurt.” 

“Grant…I was really scared to give you a chance.” 

“I know. I was scared too. But I’m not anymore.” 

“I’m not either. It sort of scares me that I’m not scared, if that makes sense.” 

“It does. I want you to know that you can trust me. I hope this isn’t jumping ahead of things, but…I thought I was going to marry Courtney. I had a ring and everything. And I would imagine our life together – getting ready together in the morning and feeding our dog Max. But it always seemed like a fantasy that I knew somewhere in the back of my mind would never come true. Then when we were pretending to be married, even when we were fighting, I could actually imagine being like that with you – sharing a bed and spooning and taking Max for walks.” 

“Are you trying to propose, Ward?” she asked, teasing him. 

“Not really…not right now…I guess I’m just saying that what I thought I had with Courtney was just an illusion, but with you it’s the real thing.” 

“I know exactly what you mean,” she said, leaning up to kiss him. “Now that I’m with you, I can’t imagine how I didn’t know that this was what I wanted. Besides, maybe if I’m cute enough you’ll give me a ride on your Harley,” she winked. 

“I knew it, you’re just in it for the bike,” he teased. 

“Hey, I can’t help it if the bike comes with a sexy man,” she smiled, pulling his mouth down to hers by his shirt. They began kissing lovingly, then rather passionately, tongues slowly exploring each other’s mouths as things became more heated. He released her lips to move his mouth down her neck. 

“I know we both wanted to take things slow,” he whispered against her skin, “and if I’m moving too fast, that’s fine…but I would really love to see what’s under these clothes.” 

“Oh, you know, the normal stuff. Shoulders. Legs,” she said teasingly, then gasped as he sucked her earlobe into his mouth. “On second thought, maybe you should just see for yourself,” she said, breathing heavily. 

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I don’t want to rush you into anything,” he assured, placing a kiss on her sternum. 

“I’ll tell you what, you can see what’s under my clothes, if you show me what’s under yours,” she said, pulling his white t-shirt over his head and tossing it away. 

“Deal,” he said, pulling her tight green t-shirt over her head as well and running his teeth over her collarbone. She enjoyed the feeling for a moment, then flipped them over so that she was on top of him and returned the treatment he had given her, kissing down his neck, nibbling at his collarbone, running her tongue over his sternum. He moaned at this and unhooked her bra, then flipped them back over and replaced the discarded piece of fabric with his hands, following his fingers with his mouth as Veronica panted with desire. 

While he was exploring her stomach with his lips and tongue, she reached down and undid his jeans, slipping them and his boxer briefs off in one motion before he kicked them away. When his mouth finally reached her jeans, he pulled them off slowly, then ran his tongue along the edge of her knickers while teasing her through the fabric. 

“Grant!” she gasped, nearly melting into the bed. She could see his excitement grow as she became increasingly desperate for him, then he finally removed her last garment and passionately showed her how much he valued her.


	26. Mild Fitzsimmons Feels

“Simmons, can you hold this together for me while I screw it together?” Fitz asked, referring to the weapon he was assembling. 

“Give me a few minutes, I can in a bit,” Simmons said, since she was busy working on a healing serum. 

“Oh, that’s alright, I’ll see if Christina can do it,” he shrugged, going off to find her. 

“I don’t mind helping, I can do it in a few minutes,” Simmons said, but he was gone. Simmons sighed. They always helped each other out while they were working, even if they weren’t working on the same thing. It made her feel like they were a team. She knew it shouldn’t be a big deal that he was asking his girlfriend to assist him for a moment, but it would take some getting used to. 

She tried not to let it bother her, but he also had been spending so much time with Christina lately that she found it difficult to spend time with him. She was happy for him that he’d found someone wonderful, but she suddenly felt like she was being replaced. She didn’t want to lose her best friend. 

She felt especially left out when he and Christina came in and giggled while she helped him put together his weapon. When Christina left, Fitz went to see what Simmons was working on. 

“Christina and I are going to dinner tonight. Would you like to come?” he asked. 

“Oh…no…no, I’ve got a lot to do, I’d better just stay here.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes…I’ll find something later. You go ahead.” 

Fitz went off to get ready, and Simmons sighed. She knew she should have accepted, but she’d just feel like a third wheel.


	27. Agent Ward's Handcuffs

It didn’t take long for Coulson to notice that Ward and Veronica were together, and he didn’t mind as long as it didn’t get in the way of their work. As far as everyone else on the bus, none of them had ever seen Ward so happy, and they actually saw him smiling regularly. Skye was incredibly happy for her friends, glad that they had found each other and were happy.   
When neither of them was in the field, they frequently worked out together, wrestled, or just spent quality time together having a beer and cuddling. 

One day, after being in the field all day, Ward entered Veronica’s quarters wearing his jeans, a dark gray t-shirt, and his black leather jacket. Veronica was sitting in a chair reading when he came in and pulled his gun holster off, setting it aside along with his handcuffs. 

“You look sexy when you’re dressed like that and have your gun on, Agent Ward,” she said, putting her book aside and standing up to kiss him. “It adds to the whole ‘agent’ thing.” 

“You like the agent thing?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Well, you’re going to have to be better about taking orders.” 

“Yes, sir,” she said, and he noticed her pupils dilate. He decided to use this to his advantage. 

“Get on the bed,” he commanded. She did as she was told, reclining on the bed and waiting for him. “Here’s how this is going to work, agent. I give the orders, you follow them, is that clear?” 

“Yes, Agent Ward,” she said. To reward her for her obedience, he crawled over her on the bed and hovered over her mouth. She lifted her head and arms, trying to kiss him, but he pinned her wrists down and made sure he was far enough away that she couldn’t kiss him. 

“One more move like that and I’ll have to take disciplinary action,” he informed her. Still leaving her mouth unkissed, he leaned down and bit her earlobe, making her moan as he pulled her tank top over her head, discovering that she wasn’t wearing a bra. He began exploring all of this newly exposed skin with his lips and teeth, and she instinctively moved her hands into his hair. He got up off the bed, making her look at him pleadingly. “I warned you that the next time you tried to take control, you would be disciplined,” he said. With that, he went over and grabbed his handcuffs, putting them on her wrists and attaching them to the bed. 

He then continued teasing her torso with his mouth while she whimpered and strained against the handcuffs. When he got to her pajama pants he pulled them and her knickers off quickly, then began teasing everything he could reach with his fingers and mouth. 

“Please, Agent Ward,” she begged as he nibbled at the skin on the inside of her thigh. He didn’t let this pleading hurry him, just slowly ran his tongue up to her hipbone. A moment later he was off the bed again, undressing. He returned to her on the bed and continued teasing her. She had been satisfied multiple times before he finally gave in to his own desires.


	28. Fitz Gets Some

Christina was taking notes while Coulson talked to the agents in the command center. She really was trying to focus, but she couldn’t help but exchange glances with Fitz. Finally, Coulson released the agents, and they dispersed. 

“Did you get it all?” Coulson asked Christina. 

“Yes, it’s all right here,” she said, pointing to her laptop. “I’ll email it to you.” 

“Good,” Coulson said. A moment later, Fitz re-entered. At first Coulson thought he had a question, until he walked right over to Christina, gave her a kiss on the lips, and then left. Coulson raised his eyebrows at his assistant. 

“It was important,” she said matter-of-factly. 

That day also happened to mark the first month of her relationship with Fitz. They were sleeping in the same bed most nights and occasionally their make out sessions would get a bit steamy, but that was as far as they had gotten physically, and lately they’d had to actively stop themselves. 

After a dinner of shepherd’s pie that Christina had made accompanied by some wine, the couple was comfortable, full, and relaxed. They put Star Trek into Christina’s laptop and set it up on a little table next to the bed, then cuddled up under the covers to watch it. During the second episode, Christina got other ideas and turned Fitz’s face to hers so that she could kiss him. At first he tried to make it a quick kiss and keep watching, but this was unsuccessful and he soon relaxed and adjusted their bodies so that he could wrap his arms around her as their tongues explored each other’s mouths. 

Remembering the positive reaction it always received, he ran his fingers gently over her lower spine through her dress. She sighed into his mouth and began undoing his tie, getting it loose enough to toss away before pushing his cardigan over his shoulders. 

Coming up for air, she broke the kiss, but then kissed a line from the corner of his mouth to his ear. When she pressed her lips to the warm skin of his neck just below the ear, he moaned softly and she felt his grip on her lower back tighten. Reacting to this encouragement, she continued to kiss down his neck while beginning to undo the buttons on his shirt. 

When she had gotten the shirt off, she captured his mouth again as her hands ran over his chest and back. After several moments, he pulled the zipper down the back of her dress, then stopped the kiss. 

“Is it…alright if I do this?” he asked. She nodded and pulled his lips back down to hers, allowing him to pull her dress off and return his hand to her lower back. Things continued in this direction – his pants being removed, then her bra, then the last garments – each of them checking that it was alright before proceeding. It wasn’t long before they were doing something that neither of them had done in quite a while.


	29. Ward's Ex

Ward and Veronica looked around in the club. They were undercover again – Veronica had on a tight, spaghetti strap little black dress and strappy heels, while Ward was wearing jeans and a purple button-up shirt. 

“Do you see anything suspicious?” he asked, leaning in to talk in Veronica’s ear so that he could be heard over the blasting dubstep. 

“No,” she said, shaking her head. They didn’t entirely know who they were looking for, but they heard there was some kind of shady dealing going on here involving the selling of tiny explosives that could take out a city. They were supposed to act like just a normal couple on a night out while trying to figure out who was involved in this operation. 

“Oh my god,” Ward suddenly said. 

“What?” Veronica asked, following his line of vision. “Are you seriously checking out that skanky blonde?” 

“No…that’s Courtney,” he said, looking a little pale. 

“Really? That’s her?” Veronica asked. The bleached blonde girl was wearing shorts that barely covered anything and a handkerchief around her chest as a pathetic attempt at a shirt. She was also covered in glow-in-the-dark body paint and glitter. She was on the arm of a rather old gentleman who looked rich and frankly rather fun, but not exactly young or attractive. “The one with the old man?” 

“I guess she decided to finally pursue her dream of being a trophy wife,” Ward said sardonically, noticing the enormous glistening rock on her left ring finger. “You know, she always tried to get me to come out to clubs with her, but it was never really my thing.” 

“Come on, we’re dancing,” Veronica said, getting an idea. She grabbed Ward’s hand and dragged him to the middle of the dance floor. 

“Uh, I don’t really know how to do this,” he said.

“Just act like you want to have sex with me, I’ll take care of the rest.” 

“Well, that shouldn’t be difficult,” he said with a smirk. That was when he and Courtney made eye contact. She could not have looked more shocked to see Grant Ward in a club with a sexy woman. Seizing the moment to her advantage, Veronica turned her back to Ward, grabbing his hand and wrapping it around her waist as she rubbed her backside along the front of his pants, wiggling along with the music. Glancing around and trying to imitate the other guys on the dance floor, Ward began running his hands up and down Veronica’s sides, leaning down to kiss her neck from behind and then sliding his hands down to her hips. 

After a moment, Ward realized that his girlfriend was a little too sexy and needed her to tone it down before his excitement became too obvious, so he used his grip on her hips to turn her around. She ran her hands up his chest, still moving to the music, as he put his hands in her hair and rested his forehead on hers. When the song was finally over, he made contact with Courtney once more, giving her a smug look before threading his fingers in Veronica’s hair again and kissing her seductively. When this action was finished, they both saw Courtney glare at Veronica before turning her back and focusing on her geriatric husband. 

“I almost feel sorry for her,” Veronica said. “Just kidding, I really don’t. Anyway, I think I saw a couple guys surreptitiously exchanging things under their coats over there,” she continued, and they went to go check it out.


	30. Coulson Receives Too Much Information

Fitz found Skye and Simmons in the lab the next morning. He entered, whistling a happy tune, and began gathering up his tools so that he could clean them and sharpen any that needed it. Skye raised an eyebrow at him for a moment, and then smiled knowingly. 

“Duuuude,” she said. 

“Good morning, Skye,” he said cheerfully. 

“Ha! I knew it!” she laughed. 

“Knew what?” Fitz asked innocently. 

“You got laid last night.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, blushing. 

“Don’t even try to deny it. Go Fitz!” 

Simmons just looked incredibly uncomfortable and Fitz looked embarrassed that Skye had figured it out. A moment later, Coulson and Christina entered. Coulson briefed the group on some research he wanted them to do, then asked Skye to follow him out of the lab. 

“What did I do now?” she asked when Coulson had her alone. 

“Why was everybody acting strangely in there?” Coulson asked. 

“Oh…it’s nothing,” Skye said nonchalantly. Coulson just stared at her. “It’s…you don’t need to know, it’s not…work-related,” she added. Coulson continued staring. Caving under his super stare, she glanced around and then leaned forward. Coulson leaned in too. “Fitz and Christina did it,” she whispered. Coulson looked like he regretted demanding this information. 

“Get to work, Skye,” he said, changing the subject. He was torn between being proud and disgusted at this news.


	31. Veronica Takes Control

After a long ride on Ward’s Harley, he parked in the bus’s garage and Veronica got off of the back of the motorcycle. 

“Stay where you are,” she said as he took off his helmet. He looked a bit surprised and confused, but didn’t get off the bike. She removed her helmet and her jeans and then got back onto the Harley, straddling Ward’s lap and kissing him deeply. She slid his leather jacket off his shoulders and then his t-shirt, then kissed down his neck and across his collarbone as her fingers ran over his bare chest. He started breathing heavily, pulling her shirt over her head as she stopped kissing him. “Put the jacket back on,” she said. 

Without bothering to question it, he grabbed the jacket that was still behind him on the back of the motorcycle and put it back on. Next she undid his pants and pulled them along with his underwear down just enough to release an essential area. He gasped as she began grinding her hips against his, prompting him to unhook her bra and begin exploring her neck and chest with his mouth. Before long, he moved her knickers aside she gave him a ride on his Harley with his pants down and his jacket on. 

When they finally went back inside on the rest of the bus, they passed by May’s quarters just in time to see Coulson leaving them, adjusting his tie. He gave them a smug, casual nod and walked away, leaving them with no doubt as to what he’d been doing in there.


	32. Get it, Fitz

Fitz was incredibly distracted at work all day because Christina was wearing thigh-high black stockings. They just looked like normal tights, but every time she would walk by the lab, her skirt would swish just slightly enough to see the tops of the stockings. For whatever reason, he found this far too alluring and Simmons frequently had to elbow him to get him to pay attention to his work. 

After dinner, when everyone had gone to bed for the night, Fitz found Christina in her quarters, reading a book while laying on her stomach on the bed with her feet bent up toward the ceiling. Those damn stockings. 

When she saw him, she put the book away and moved over to make room for him. He immediately rolled them so that he was on top of her and began kissing her passionately. After a moment, he came up for air and Christina took a deep breath. 

“Wow,” she said. “What was that for?” 

“Your stockings have been distracting me all day,” he informed her. 

“Have they?” 

“You have no idea,” he answered, running a hand up her leg and kissing her again. She began removing his sweater and then started unbuttoning his shirt slowly as his tongue explored her mouth, one hand on her leg and the other on the sensitive spot on her lower back. When she’d gotten his shirt off he immediately began unzipping her dress and removing it from her body.   
Kissing slowly down her neck and cleavage, he removed her bra and then replaced it with his hands, making her moan softly as she began removing his pants. 

Before long, everything had been removed except for her stockings, which Fitz made sure she kept on as he showed her how much he liked them.


	33. Simmons + Boys

The next day, Fitz spent a couple of hours working before he finally couldn’t take the cold air coming from Simmons’ general direction any more. 

“Alright, what’s going on?” he asked. 

“What do you mean, Fitz?” 

“You’ve been acting strange for weeks. What have I done to upset you?” 

“Nothing. It’s just…I’m happy for you, I really am. I’m just not used to another girl in your life. I don’t get to spend as much time with you and…I miss you. I just don’t want to lose my best friend.” 

“You won’t lose me,” he promised. “You couldn’t if you tried. You’re my best friend. You know you can spend time with me whenever you want, just say so. And with both of us.” 

“Thanks,” she said, giving him a good hug. She knew she had been overreacting, but she was glad that everything had been sorted out. 

*

Coulson entered the lab with another newcomer, a young, handsome agent. Coulson introduced him and Simmons turned around and dropped her wrench. Fitz glanced over at her as a goofy smile spread over her face as she looked at the new agent. 

Skye shook her head. It was like déjà vu.


End file.
